Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Arkansas General Assembly, fetched 2026-07-23. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
1 State of Arkansas A Bill
2 95th General Assembly
3 Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1977
4
5 By: Representative Bentley
6 By: Senator A. Clark
7
8 For An Act To Be Entitled
9 AN ACT TO CREATE THE PROTECTING CHILDHOOD INNOCENCE
10 IN LIBRARIES ACT; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
11
12
13 Subtitle
14 TO CREATE THE PROTECTING CHILDHOOD
15 INNOCENCE IN LIBRARIES ACT.
16
17 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
18
19 SECTION 1. DO NOT CODIFY. Legislative findings.
20 The General Assembly finds that:
21 (1) Parents of young children have a right to determine when and
22 how their children should be educated about sex;
23 (2) Children's sections of public libraries and public school
24 libraries have traditionally taken care to curate materials that are age-
25 appropriate for children;
26 (3) Exposure to a wide range of books is important for the
27 educational development of Arkansas children;
28 (4) Children should be able to freely browse books within a
29 children's library section without exposure to sexually explicit material or
30 to sex education materials without parental consent; and
31 (5) Taxpayer-funded libraries should assist parents in
32 facilitating educational opportunities for their children by ensuring
33 children's library sections provide age-appropriate materials free of
34 sexually explicit material.
35
36 SECTION 2. DO NOT CODIFY. Title.
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1 This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Protecting Childhood
2 Innocence in Libraries Act".
3
4 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code Title 6, Chapter 21, Subchapter 1, is amended
5 to add an additional section to read as follows:
6 6-21-122. Sexually explicit material in children's library areas
7 prohibited ---- Cause of action ---- Definitions.
8 (a) A public school library in this state shall take reasonable steps
9 to ensure that sexually explicit material is not located on open shelving
10 within children's library areas.
11 (b) Sex education materials shall not be placed on open shelving
12 within a children's library section but may be made accessible or checked out
13 by a child twelve (12) years of age or under upon parent or guardian request.
14 (c)(1) A parent or guardian whose child has been exposed to sexually
15 explicit material in a children's section of a library has a private cause of
16 action for damages and declaratory and injunctive relief against a public
17 school library that fails to take reasonable steps to place only age-
18 appropriate materials in a children's library section.
19 (2) A civil action brought under subdivision (c)(1) of this
20 section shall be commenced within two (2) years of the date of the cause of
21 action.
22 (3) An individual who prevails in a civil action under
23 subdivision (c)(1) of this section may recover from the public school library
24 that failed to take reasonable steps to avoid placing sexually explicit
25 material on open shelving within a children's library section:
26 (A) Reasonable attorney fees; and
27 (B) Costs.
28 (d) As used in this section:
29 (1) "Age-appropriate material" means materials primarily for
30 children twelve (12) years of age and under that are free of sexually
31 explicit material;
32 (2) "Children's library section" means sections of a library
33 that are organized primarily for children twelve (12) years of age and under;
34 (3) "Open shelving" means library shelving and library displays
35 where materials can be freely accessed by children without assistance;
36 (4) "Sex education materials" means materials that are designed
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1 to educate students about the facts of sexual reproduction; and
2 (5)(A) "Sexually explicit material" means material that depicts
3 or describes with a high level of graphic detail or descriptive language:
4 (i) The penetration of the anus or mouth of a person
5 by the penis of another person;
6 (ii) The penetration of the labia majora or anus of
7 a person by any bodily member or foreign instrument manipulated by another
8 person; or
9 (iii) Sexually explicit conduct as defined in � 5-
10 27-302.
11 (B) "Sexually explicit material" does not include:
12 (i) Sex education material; or
13 (ii) Material that mentions an occurrence of sexual
14 intercourse, sexual acts, or sexual attraction without a high level of
15 graphic detail or descriptive language.
16
17 SECTION 4. Arkansas Code Title 13, Chapter 2, Subchapter 1, is amended
18 to add an additional section to read as follows:
19 13-2-108. Sexually explicit material in children's library areas
20 prohibited ---- Cause of action ---- Definitions.
21 (a) A taxpayer-funded library in this state shall take reasonable
22 steps to ensure that sexually explicit material is not located on open
23 shelving within children's library areas.
24 (b) Sex education materials shall not be placed on open shelving
25 within a children's library section but may be made accessible or checked out
26 by a child twelve (12) years of age or under upon parent or guardian request.
27 (c)(1) A parent or guardian whose child has been exposed to sexually
28 explicit material in a children's section of a library has a private cause of
29 action for damages and declaratory and injunctive relief against a taxpayer-
30 funded library that fails to take reasonable steps to place only age-
31 appropriate materials in a children's library section.
32 (2) A civil action brought under subdivision (c)(1) of this
33 section shall be commenced within two (2) years of the date of the cause of
34 action.
35 (3) An individual who prevails in a civil action under
36 subdivision (c)(1) of this section may recover from the taxpayer-funded
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1 library that failed to take reasonable steps to avoid placing sexually
2 explicit material on open shelving within a children's library section:
3 (A) Reasonable attorney fees; and
4 (B) Costs.
5 (d) As used in this section:
6 (1) "Age-appropriate material" means materials primarily for
7 children twelve (12) years of age and under that are free of sexually
8 explicit material;
9 (2) "Children's library section" means sections of a library
10 that are organized primarily for children twelve (12) years of age and under;
11 (3) "Open shelving" means library shelving and library displays
12 where materials can be freely accessed by children without assistance;
13 (4) "Sex education materials" means materials that are designed
14 to educate students about the facts of sexual reproduction;
15 (5)(A) "Sexually explicit material" means material that depicts
16 or describes with a high level of graphic detail or descriptive language:
17 (i) The penetration of the anus or mouth of a person
18 by the penis of another person;
19 (ii) The penetration of the labia majora or anus of
20 a person by any body member or foreign instrument manipulated by another
21 person; or
22 (iii) Sexually explicit conduct as defined in � 5-
23 27-302.
24 (B) "Sexually explicit material" does not include:
25 (i) Sex education material; or
26 (ii) Material that mentions an occurrence of sexual
27 intercourse, sexual acts, or sexual attraction without a high level of
28 graphic detail or descriptive language; and
29 (6) "Taxpayer-funded library" means a library that receives
30 funds from any type of state or local taxes, including without limitation a:
31 (A) County library; or
32 (B) Municipal library.
33
34
35
36
4 04/02/2025 3:37:21 PM SSS313Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.